Continuing with our series of Pregnancy and Work we will enter today in administrative matters detailing the steps to follow to take the maternity leave request.
The maternity leave It is an economic subsidy that is recognized by the National Institute of Social Security for cases of biological maternity, adoption or foster care. Maternity leave is a fact that is recognized by the labor legislation and is one of the situations contemplated within the suspensions of employment contracts with reservation of the job in the general regime and in those labor regimes that enjoy a contractual relationship between company and worker, and also in the case of autonomous workers.
Characteristics of maternity leave
The suspension of the employment contract is exercised before delivery in the case of biological mothers if they wish to begin this break before birth. As a deadline, maternity leave will begin to count mandatory way on the day of the baby's birth, day that is recognized as the deadline for the birth of the benefit.
For cases of adoption or foster care, the period of maternity leave begins to be computed on the day of the administrative decision that motivates the foster care or on the day of the judicial decision that makes the adoption firm.
Maternity leave has a duration of 16 weeks enjoyed continuously, of which at least 6 weeks have to be enjoyed after delivery. In cases of multiple births, the length of maternity leave is extended by two weeks for each additional child.
The basic requirement to opt for maternity leave is being in high status in Social Security or in a situation assimilated to discharge, which is the equivalent of unemployment or in sick leave.
These requirements leave professionals out of the system who, because of their work, are not registered in the general Social Security scheme and are mutualists as lawyers or solicitors.
Economic amount and form of calculation
The economic amount of the maternity leave subsidy is conditioned by the regulatory basis of the worker who has the right to receive it. As a general rule, the regulatory basis for the benefit corresponds to 100% of the worker's contribution base in the month prior to the start date of the maternity leave.
This regulatory base has no maximum limit, as with other benefits and can be calculated by checking the contribution base reflected in payroll in the previous month. The minimum periods required in contributions to collect maternity leave are as follows:
- Mother under 21 years. No contribution period is required.
- Mother between 21 and 26 years. You must have contributed 90 days, in the seven years prior to the date of delivery, or 180 days throughout your working life.
- Mother older than 26 years. You must have contributed a minimum of 180 days to Social Security, in the seven years preceding the date of delivery, or 360 days throughout your entire working life.
In the event that a mother meets the requirements for discharge, but does not meet the minimum contribution requirements, she will have right to a maternity allowance, or seven-week benefit for an amount equivalent to 1.5 times the daily IPREM. For multiple births, this amount is extended by 14 days for each additional child.
Procedures to perform
The maternity leave request It must be taken by the worker herself in any INSS office. The documentation to be provided is as follows:
- Ready form of maternity leave request (see PDF link)
- Medical certificate attesting to the circumstance of maternity.
- ID or passport for foreign mothers.
- Company certificate stating the contribution bases of the last 180 days.
- In the case of self-employed women, the last receipts that prove the payment of fees.
- Certificate of registration of the child in the civil registry once he has been born or registration of the judicial decision of adoption.
Additionally, maternity leave allows transfer the right to the other parent in certain circumstances and even opt for a shared maternity leave. These cases make it possible to reconcile the rest between the parents simultaneously or configure these periods according to the needs of the new parents.
Differences between maternity leave, medical leave and leave due to occupational risk
One of the fronts that generates more doubts to any pregnant working mother, are the differences between the different work losses that can originate during pregnancy. In the first place, there is a sick leave due to common illness, as a situation that can be caused by pregnancy or by another type of illness.
If a pregnant woman is in sick leave, you cannot begin to enjoy maternity leave until it is time for delivery, since both situations are incompatible. In the case of suspension of the work contract, for example, by termination of the same, sick leave is not interrupted unless medical discharge prescribing that the disease has already ended, a situation that occurs infrequently.
In this case, the mother has the right to maternity leave at the time of the baby's birth because she is in a situation assimilated to discharge as described above.
On the other hand, if the medical leave that has been obtained comes caused by occupational risk during pregnancy and there is a suspension of the contract before the request for maternity leave, the mother will only be entitled to maternity leave if she is legally unemployed, since the termination of the employment contract simultaneously eliminates the risk of pregnancy work .
These types of casualties are casualties with important implications, which we must keep in mind in the case of dismissals, contract terminations or any other circumstance that affects our continuity in the company.
